1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an in-mold decoration apparatus and a horizontal direction decorating sheet feeding machine each of which is suited to doing decoration on resin molded articles by using two decorating sheets.
2. Description of Related Art
One of conventional methods for decorating the surface of a resin molded article is an in-mold decoration method utilizing decorating sheets of transfer member or the like.
The in-mold decoration method refers to a method including the steps of: sandwiching into a mold a decorating sheet in which a transfer layer composed of a separation layer, a pattern layer, an adhesion layer or the like is formed on a substrate sheet; injecting molten resin into the mold; cooling the molten resin to obtain a resin molded article and, simultaneously, bonding the decorating sheet to the molded article surface; thereafter, separating the substrate sheet and transferring the transfer layer onto a surface of a transfer object, by which decoration is achieved. The in-mold decoration method has a feature that patterns can be formed on even molded articles of such a configuration that patterns are difficult to form directly thereon by a printing process.
For feeding a decorating sheet to a specified position of a mold, use is made of a decorating sheet feeding machine which is so structured that the decorating sheet is rolled out from a rolled long decorating sheet roll placed upward of the mold, made to pass along on the surface of the mold while the transfer-effected substrate sheet is rolled up below the mold. As to the alignment of the decorating sheet fed along the vertical direction as shown above is done through a longitudinal alignment performed by the feed amount of the decorating sheet and a lateral alignment performed by moving the decorating sheet feeding machine itself along the lateral direction (Japanese unexamined patent publication No. S61-297149).
Decoration of both sides of a resin molded article by using the in-mold decoration method is performed as follows. That is, after decorating sheets are set on both a fixed mold-half surface and a movable-mold-half surface, respectively, of an injection mold, the mold is clamped so that the two decorating sheets are sandwiched between the mold halves, and then molten resin is injected to between the two decorating sheets and cooled, by which a resin molded article is obtained, while the decorating sheets are adhesively bonded to both sides of the molded article, and the two substrate sheets are separated so that the transfer layers are transferred to both sides of a transfer object.